today's news the week's top stories right here on. the u.s. threatening the. allegations of a chemical attack in syria meantime damascus warns that western intervention would simply inflame the entire region. britain's guardian newspaper reveals it was pressured by destroying data on the notorious eavesdropping from edward snowden. when you say no government. they have the ability to take everything tough decision the owner of an encrypted e-mail used by snowden explains. why he was forced to shut it down. and bradley manning appeals for a presidential pardon. for us war crimes but the mainstream media is in

a frenzy over the. identity. with the top headlines of the week and off today you just in time for the weekly with me. barack obama and david cameron have threatened syria's government with a serious response if indeed it's confirmed in damascus hundreds of people on wednesday. assad's administration has warned against a u.s. led intervention saying the move would simply set the middle east ablaze. told me the latest reports come from the country accosting doubts over the allegations against the syrian regime. and state television is reporting that syrian soldiers entered a number of tunnels that had been used by rebel fighters in damascus and they they

found him t. shells the remnants of chemical agents what we do know is that the shells had marked on them made in saudi arabia and of course saudi arabia has long been a critic of the syrian president bashar assad the soldiers started coughing they started suffocating and immediately ambulances had to be same to the scene to actually assist these soldiers now this comes as the united states starts moving its naval ships in the mediterranean closer to the syrian coast the indications on the ground are that the first wave of preparations for any kind of military intervention inside syria are underway and that the u.s. and in particular the navy is just waiting for the green light what we've heard from a bomber is that he is mulling over the situation he says that it needs to be fought over seriously there needs to be a wary miss in terms of making this decision but that any kind of military attack inside syria would be both costly and deadly the word he used was difficult the

defense department has been tasked with giving the bomber all the latest facts on the ground you investigators are inside syria they've been there now for week they arrived last sunday they're investigating at least a dozen other reports of chemical usage of a damascus government has pledged to give full support to the u.n. investigators in trying to reach the area where this latest alleged chemical attack took place but it took place in rebel held areas so really it's not really up to the damascus regime to ensure maximum cooperation but they have said that they will do their best to ensure that there is a safe passage for the investigators we're seeing quite a lot of chips come into place here paula you talk about the military posturing on the part of washington with that with the fourth warships heading to the region as well. warning. a serious consequence of serious retaliation to syria when it comes to this alleged chemical attack but that's just it that was in it i mean it's

allegations and it's speculation at this point well this is a very important point all the indications and all the allegations are essentially speculation we have real news of video and still photographs that have been posted to you tube all of them purport to show chemical attacks carried out in syria but none of this footage can be verified the damascus regime is increasingly being accused of carrying out chemical weaponry and there is no evidence no evidence whatsoever to suggest this the russian foreign ministry made the point that a lot of the allegations that pointed to the fact that the damascus regime that carried out these attacks were allegations that were posted online hours before this latest so-called attack was carried out the foreign ministry saying that they are getting new evidence that all of these allegations are of a provocative nature so you have a lot of unverified facts circulating on the internet the pressure on the syrian government of course is increasing and here we've heard from the french foreign

minister he has said that all evidence points to damascus earlier there was a united nations security council meeting and following that meeting the french did threaten to use force if indeed these allegations against the damascus regime were proven to be true the syrian government however has warned against foreign intervention and there is a lot of concern and pressure on those in the international community who might be moving in that direction. while the u.n. inspectors have yet to determine whether chemicals have been used and who might have used them there's been no clarity over the number of casualties either however there's no question over who would ultimately benefit from the alleged attack that's what we've been getting told from drew political analysts pressure coming soon. of course if we look at the history of this particular region to go to a region where the attack is said to take place is very active with the front and they've also been implicated in using makeshift chlorine bombs in aleppo back in

march so there is a track record there the evidence unfortunately does not stack up with these present claims of the syrian government perpetrating these attacks who benefits from a chemical attack in syria well the opposition benefits it's quite obvious the syrian government does not benefit the opposition benefits because this would be the key to unlock the. airstrikes and bombing campaign over syria all of libya is a little the opposition would like a libyan style coalition with nato in order to force the regime out of power in damascus so they clearly benefit from any reports of a chemical attack in syria. and we've been following the latest escalate. dot com you can find the latest updates and analysis as well. live from moscow it's all this week the british newspaper which spilled the beans on the n.s.a. and was in turn forced to destroy materials provided by edward snowden actually

came clean on why it gave in to government pressure the guardian editor said that london threatened legal action to stop the paper from reporting the sensitive leaks all together so they agreed to destroy the original data which had nevertheless already been copied. as details. you've had your fun now it's time to return the documents so the unnamed government official to the newspaper editor it could be the stuff of movies only it isn't we were faced effectively with an ultimatum from the british government that if we didn't hand back the material or destroy it they would be to law in recent months the guardian newspaper has come to be known as the paper that's been exposing secret material from a trove of information passed onto web by former contractor of the national security agency edward snowden but in recent days the editor of the newspaper is also publicized what had gone on a behind closed doors here how security officials had ended up in the basement of

their offices overseeing the destruction of hard drives of computers which contained the very information the paper's been exposing a bizarre turn of events salaries major says that came all the way up from the prime minister's office once it was obvious that they would be going to law. i would rather destroy the copy than hand it back to them or allow the courts to freeze our reporting and i was happy to destroy it because it was not going to inhibit our reporting we would simply do not from london a twenty first century possibility in a highly digital and connected world the revelation by rusbridger came just a day after that it's attention and david miranda part there of the guardian journalist glenn greenwald the journalist who had broken the story of snowden's leaks and the same materials around it was detained under the u.k.'s terrorism act and was held in question for nine hours at heathrow airport it caused an outcry

among politicians and journalists and even david anderson the independent reviewer of terrorism laws who demanded an explanation prompting the u.k. home office to go on the offensive the government and the police have a duty to protect the public and our national security those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what they can do if they were. want to protect the public to tell the public what it is they're protecting them from a generalized statement about terrorism in general doesn't really do the trick you've got to be able to say well the information he's got would in danger the public for the following reasons you've got to have reasons for it no such reasons have been advanced miranda's detention as well as the destruction of computers in the guardian's basement has one of britain's most respected newspapers in the spotlight the story teller has become this story this is a very damaging moment actually for britain's reputation for free speech being laid bare the way that the british state is very prepared to use terrorism legislation

to use accusations of terrorism in order to shut down what looks to be journalistic practice good healthy investigative journalism with some of pointed to be noticeably lackluster response from the country's other newspapers following his revelations especially considering that press freedom appears to be at stake the business of reporting securely and having confidential sources is becoming difficult in these documents there is the stated ambition to scoop up everything and store it all to master the internet this is the language that's being used internally this is celia r t london and it's not only journalists that are now getting their colors felt after edward snowden invaded the clutches of the american authorities after it was revealed the n.s.a. leaker had used a secure email service lava bit its owner was forced to shut down his company leveson says he had to do it or else be forced by the u.s. government to spy on his own customers and i was and also explained to my colleague

that he didn't want to ultimately perpetrate what he called a crime against the american people. if i had continued to operate i felt like it would have put me in a ethically compromising position. in other words the service no longer would have been what i intended it to be which was a secure and private method of communication for americans so you posted a message on line saying that you were in an impossible situation that either you would quote you here become complicit in crimes against the american people or walk away from a decade of your hard work what do you think you would have faced if you didn't shut down the service when you say no to the government. they have the ability to take everything they have the ability to take your business take your money and take your freedom and there really isn't all that much you can do about it.

i was looking at the very real possibility of an impossible debt and possibly being put in jail and still not being able to tell people why i was even in jail you wrote on the line that without congressional action or strong judicial precedent that you would advise people users against trusting a company that has physical ties to the us why is that all of the major providers here in the us. have provided. our government with real time access to the private information of their users and they don't really have a choice about it and they don't really have the ability to tell anybody about it. so the fact is if you trust your data to a company even if they they haven't already been approached. and

been required to provide access the simple fact is they could be in the future. and in the meantime a convicted u.s. whistleblower bradley manning who passed proof of washington's war crimes to wiki leaks is now seeking a pardon from the white house manning was sentenced to thirty five years in jail this week for the biggest leak of military data in history and it lets a draft of barack obama the whistleblower stressed he's a patriot who acted to protect the very liberties that americans hold dear for the mainstream media however has launched a fresh smear campaign against him as guy nature can reports bradley manning sentence of thirty five years behind bars has said on the president it punishment threshold for whistleblowers bradley manning should be walking the streets and being treated for who is a whistle blower who exposed war crimes in iraq afghanistan secret war in yemen and the other corruption of the governments the us supported bradley manning supporters gathered outside the white house to call for the president to pardon the

whistleblower the supporters of bradley manning say what's at stake here is not just men but also the future of journalism and the public's right to be informed on the actions that their government is taking on their behalf manning's defense team has submitted a request for a pardon but there seems to be little chance that it will be granted but the government's ongoing crackdown on whistleblowers under the current administration and unauthorized leak to the media of classified information is viewed as being tantamount to aiding the enemy. a government wide crackdown on whistleblowers and the extension of this crackdown to journalists threatens to stifle the flow of information that is vital to our public but the media in the us has largely failed to stand up for bradley manning government officials and t.v. pundits all but convicted the whistleblower even before any trial took place who cares whether the army killed some innocent people or not over in iraq we know we

don't want to we don't want to be a part of that we it's very uncomfortable so if it's a complex issue and it's uncomfortable americans generally will pull back from it allows the media to fill that gap and portray bradley manning as a traitor manning's own personality has grabbed more headlines than the shoes that he uncovered and the day after sentencing manning's six became the main story who is healthy this week bradley manning announced that he wants to spend the rest of his life as a female and asked to be referred to as chelsea manning one of the defense psychiatry at trial testified that manning has narcissistic tendencies and i wonder if there's anything to that in the sense that she's announcing this in this very big public way you know i think this is really trying to let people have the answer that they wanted she never really wanted this to be public to begin with and when the information came out you need to understand this she gave it to her in

a limo in a very private setting in a one on one chat never expecting this to be public now that it is unfortunately you have to deal with it in a public manner chelsea manning's attorney also said his client never wanted personal issues to become the main story and overshadow the debate that the whistleblower wanted to start through the leaks in washington i'm going to. and i must go i'm rover sushi still to come for you after a very short break. the entire house is completely submerged and it's clearly going to take a lot of time money and efforts before this place returns to normal. for those living in the far east. as emergency crews remain on high alert warnings that the. one million brits face being left. forced to work on the so-called zero hours. without any.

economic.

from moscow it's our duty we're highlighting the week's top stories here on the weekly a disastrous flooding for example in russia's far east it's affected the livelihoods of more than eighty five thousand people and the water levels keep on rising emergency crews are working around the clock to fortify the city of the worst hit area right now of a two weeks ride there has been our teams pulled scott here's the latest report that he filed for us. this is marina a resident of culturally risky island and they say is marina's house water waist

high the entire ground floor resembling a cesspit rather than a home now it's only when you enter the properties that you see the extent of the damage that these floodwaters have caused now despite marinas best attempts to try and keep many of her treasured possessions out of the water it was simply in vain the entire house is completely submerged and it's clear looking around is going to take a lot of time money and efforts before this place returns to normal marina is one of hundreds in this region to have been evacuated in recent days by russia's emergency services she can't take everything with her and doesn't know when she'll be able to return for now she'll stay with friends. we've been crying all week we've lost all our property and that's after we've renovated hung new wallpaper a place new carpets. although some hardy souls remain predominantly this village is

like a ghost town but despite the chaos there are resilient attempts to carry on as normal the shop remains open although when we visited business was slow. many of those evacuated from their homes and up in temporary accommodation centers in schools and sports holes or thirty's and volunteers providing supplies such as food drinking water and medicine that some rest bite for those who have lost everything just get the policy it's good that aid is going to come there is good that we have there but he needed to stay here there has patel tease greet the treat us like the children who are the situation in the how about ask region remains critical for the west is hope the worst is over in the region attention is now turning to the cleanup operation just as. the situation is changing and we are going to regroup our forces people now come from the neighboring

a more region for planes arrive here every day. now water levels in some parts of this region have already beaten records that have stood for more than one hundred and twenty years that's of six hundred and forty two centimeters and the fear is that as the rains continue that could push the eight metre barrier causing even more devastation and destruction to people's lives and homes the military and emergency services continue to work around the clock to reinforce how about i ask concern the defenses could be breached by water that at the moment shows no signs of receding i'm with flood levels not expected to eight until mid september the true extent of the damage is yet to reveal itself and it could be some time yet before the full picture emerges postcards. about ask. on air and online twenty four seventh's here's what else we're covering at r.t. dot com right now coin friendly supporters of the controversial side but. you can find out how it all went down at the web site right now. plus thousands

take to the streets in bahrain demanding democratic reforms before dish plus the timeline again a click away on the web site right now. for the real time let's head to the aussie world update now we'll start with the yemeni capital where a powerful blast has ripped through a bus carrying air force personnel as some reports say twelve people have been killed it's thought the explosion was caused by a bomb planted inside the vehicle and the authorities in the regions are poorer state continue to battle tribal militias who often do target the nation's military . and to an easier now with thousands of people have rallied in the capital calling for the resignation of the islamist led government a coalition of opposition parties that staged mass protests demanding that new elections be held demonstrators say they're tired by the inability of authorities to maintain security and restart the economy and the ongoing unrest which erupted

in ruptured in july i should say it was sparked by the assassination of a left wing opposition politician. a state of emergency has been declared in california after a raging wildfire swept into yosemite national park the blaze doubled in size overnight and forced the city of san francisco to shut down some power lines the wildfires have also led to the evacuation of hundreds of people from a nearby town officials report that only five percent of the blaze has been contained so far. now amid layoffs and welfare cuts a growing number of britons are being left in financial limbo by their employers more and more you're adopting the controversial tactic of zero hours contracts leaving their staff with the possibility of ending up penniless and despite spending every waking hour at the job. the report. you have

a job but you don't know when you'll work or if you'll be paid that's the reality for a million brits employed on zero hours contracts donaldson's admitted that it employs ninety percent of its u.k. workforce in this way stuff are expected to be ready for work in the mornings in case the summoned by their boss says they also have the right to refuse crucially though there's no guaranteed minimum set of working hours per week hence the zero in the title of this man in his twenty's is almost zero hours contract with a well known restaurant chain every morning he waits for the call telling him whether or not he'll have work really in charge as it were you working there to be able to. make that much profit this week so actually trying to stuff as we can you guys can all be cut and we'll just do it on three stuff this week is completely and for the government has promised to investigate the controversial employment amidst

concerns that leaving an increasing number of brits in financial limbo with few rights pay and no stability or no guarantee of other jobs or wasn't making enough money to pay the rent was falling behind the number of zero hours contracts and top during the recession some economists forecasts that employers will return to hiring workers on better terms when the economy recovers the trade unions buying it in recent months and years we have start to see a growth of contracts particularly among public sector workers no longer are these small groups of workers who are employed on temporary employment now in some sights is this type of employment relationship is becoming the norm macdonald sports direct domino's and even buckingham palace zero hours employees they've been accused of exploiting people desperate for any kind of work it's part of the race to drive down the terms and conditions the pay. of all working people i know

fortunately big business is using the istari measures in the government economic crisis as an excuse to use these contracts but business representatives say that the financial crisis is forcing companies to use zero hours contracts so those people who criticize your contract have got to recognize the impact that that would have on unemployment levels if the contract in the flexibility that. wasn't available to employers i don't think it would be acting is the kind of employment stabilizer we're seeing it work out the terms of these contracts may see the bosses but many of the young people on them say that while they're on zero hours they've got zero chance of any financial stability i think they're wrong no i think they should i think they should shouldn't be lasting stream than they are because it was it doesn't happen that you don't have zero hours and you can sort of expect that at some point you made. arty london line i'm going to step aside here on the program for a katie pilbeam and her program venture of comedy. all. led

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police. to more news today volunteers once again fled up please and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. the giant corporations are all today please. we're putting the word. it was a lie you want to venture capital i'm katie philbin but a basically three state television went back on handguns happened to still be weighed down by its finances but for the money at stake coming to moscow next week would be checking out what could be warring through this guy's in-house investor sean thomas he's voiced the business that's ahead as well about what he's been up

to the week nearly lost in the last week or to be really close knowledge that corporate he's going to get libya's oil industry the country's lifeline is in danger of destruction as ports guard strikes continue to disrupt the country's exports with an estimated loss of one point six billion dollars the losses at the ports has been caused by competition between members of the new day placed petroleum facilities golf made up of ex militia members fighting amongst themselves are the selling of the country's oil for personal gain and the country is reliant on or like sports accounting for ninety five percent of all output produces shipments have been cut to their lowest level since the civil war of twenty eleven with some estimating just three hundred thousand barrels a day are being shipped out of the country now so for more insight into the libyan oil industry and the economy.